If you’re reading this article, you may have found out about a concept called inbound marketing because your current promotions didn’t work as expected.

Wordstream.com, an Adwords advertising firm, defines inbound marketing as “any kind of marketing that reaches customers when they go looking for something to buy.” On the other hand, outbound marketing is like going around the neighborhood placing fliers on everyone’s doorstep, whether or not they want something. The result?

It goes in the fireplace or the recycling bin. Online it’s about the same: people don’t want to read the email and simply delete it.

Inbound marketing is any kind of material that isn’t overtly promotional: it can be an educational ebook, a series of Youtube videos or even a set of simple quote graphics shared on Pinterest – without an overt sales pitch.

Most importantly, the content isn’t delivered traditionally – there is no paid advertising, no email marketing, and certainly no product pitch.

In quite a few cases, however, the brand or domain name is credited at the bottom of the piece.

This neat graphic is an example of inbound marketing material created by Moz.com

Applying the concept of inbound marketing

How do we go about creating worthwhile inbound marketing material without spending money? Let’s consider this fictional illustrative example:

A plumber with blog decided to create a simple fix-it guide for homeowners. It visually explains 3 or 4 scenarios that occur with common faucet leaks.

He created the faucet graphics with pen and sticky notes.

Then he snapped photos with his smart phone, added a bit of color to the diagram in a simple photo editor.

Lastly, he placed his company logo and phone number at the bottom, with a catchy call to action – “Call for advice – I’m an experienced plumber”.